Senior Scientist

Interfolio, Inc; City of Rochester (NY); On-site; USD 140,000 - 215,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) seeks a Manager of the National Laser Users Facility (NLUF) Program and an External User Coordinator for the Omega Laser Facility. The role interfaces with DOE-NNSA offices, Omega operations staff, and LLE divisions to ensure successful experimental campaigns by external users.

The successful candidate will broaden the NLUF and LBS programs, recruit new users, engage with the HEDP community, and occasionally participate in LLE

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in a relevant area of high-energy-density physics or related field.
• Demonstrated record of scientific accomplishment and leadership, and excellent communication and organizational skills.
• Experience as a user of the Omega facility or equivalent user facilities for HEDP research; engagement with academic institutions and national laboratories.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate NLUF (bi-annual) solicitation for shot time on Omega and LBS solicitations with NNSA/Office of Science.
• Serve as point of contact with DOE, NNSA, national laboratories, and sponsors; communicate results to investigators and leadership.
• Develop new initiatives to grow the sponsor base and advocate for external users within and beyond LLE.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Organizational skills

Education

Ph.D. in high-energy-density physics or related field

Job description

University of Rochester: Office of the Provost: Academic Center: LLE-Laboratory for Laser Energ

Location

Laboratory for Laser Energetics

Open Date

Aug 24, 2026

Salary Range or Pay Grade

$140,000-215,000

Description

The Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) of the University of Rochester has an opening for the Manager of the National Laser Users Facility (NLUF) Program and Coordinator for all external users of the Omega Laser Facility at LLE. The NLUF Manager works with the Department of Energy (DOE) -NNSA office, Omega Facility operations staff, and the Omega Experimental and Theory Divisions staff to ensure the success of experimental campaigns led by external users. In addition to the NLUF Program, the position coordinates the Laboratory Basic Sciences (LBS) Program that enables scientists from DOE's National Laboratories and LLE to conduct research programs on the Omega facilities. The NLUF and LBS Programs execute approximately 600 experiments per year on the LLE facilities. LaserNet is another DOE user program in which LLE participates. The User Manager serves as the point of contact with all Department of Energy sponsors of user access.

The successful applicant will also be expected to broaden the research portfolio of the NLUF and LBS Programs, to seek and encourage new users, and to work with the broad high energy density physics (HEDP) community to increase advocacy and sponsorship. In addition to these responsibilities, the successful applicant can participate in the ongoing research programs at LLE. While the exact fraction of the time spent in research will be flexible, it is expected to be in the range of no more than 25% averaged over the year.

The NLUF Manager is part of the senior management team at LLE and will be expected to communicate the results of work carried out on the facility to NNSA and other sponsors, the national laboratories, and the broader HEDP and Inertial Confinement Fusion scientific community

Specific NLUF responsibilities include:

• Conduct and coordinate with NNS the NLUF (bi-annual) solicitation for shot time on Omega,
• Conduct the annual Laboratory Basic Science (LBS) solicitation to NNSA and Office of Science laboratories
• Sub-committee chair for the Basic Science program on the Omega Facility Advisory and Scheduling Committee (FASC)
• User coordinator- communicate FASC decisions to all users (including LLE users), resolve conflicts
• Own and maintain the Omega Users Guidance Documents and Training
• Liaison to Omega Laser Users Group (OLUG)
• Communicate user community status to distinguished visitors, sponsor visitors, University Leadership and Trustees.
• LaserNet Point of Contact.

Experimental User Coordinator functional tasks include the following:

• Form review committees to review and merit-rank the NLUF and LBS proposals.
• Coordinate LLE feasibility analysis for proposed NLUF and LBS experiments,
• Document committee discussions of NLUF proposal review for DOE including recommendations on proposal approval/disapproval and shot/funding allocation.
• Support the NNSA in communicating the results of the NLUF review to the principal investigators.
• Communicate results of LBS review to the principal investigators.
• Communicate results of NLUF and LBS reviews to LLE management.
• Solicit and edit annual summaries of all external user experiments for the LLE Annual Report.
• Solicit, maintain and communicate information on external user publication activity.
• Solicit, maintain and communicate information on external user graduate student research and employment destinations.
• Support, LLE, NNSA and federal sponsors on the continuous improvement of the programs.
• Advise on applications of AI & Machine Learning which will benefit the user community.

In addition to these specific responsibilities, the successful applicant is to help develop new initiatives, grow the sponsor base and be an advocate for external users both within and outside of LLE. This includes:

• Outreach to Universities and Industry for NLUF
• Outreach to DOE laboratories for LBS
• Advise Leadership on future user program.

Qualifications

Qualifications:

• Candidates must have a Ph.D. in a relevant area of high-energy-density physics or related field
• a demonstrated record of scientific accomplishment and leadership, and excellent communication and organizational skills
• Candidates should have prior experience as a user of the Omega facility, equivalent experience in user facilities for HEDP research and engagement with academic institutions and national laboratories

SALARY RANGE: $140,000 to $215,000 Annually

The referenced pay range represents the minimum and maximum compensation for this job. Individual annual salaries/hourly rates are set within the job's compensation range, and determined by considering factors including, but not limited to, market data, education, experience, qualifications, expertise of the individual, and internal equity considerations.

The University of Rochester is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving an inclusive and welcoming culture to advance the University’s Mission to Learn, Discover, Heal, Create - and Make the World Ever Better. In support of our values and those of our society, the University is committed to not discriminating on the basis of age, color, disability, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, military/veteran status, national origin, race, religion/creed, sex, sexual orientation, citizenship status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law (Protected Classes). This commitment extends to non-discrimination in the administration of our policies, admissions, employment, access, and recruitment of candidates for all persons consistent with our values and based on applicable law.